WORCESTER, Mass. –– A Drew Lowder three-point field goal with 6.0 seconds left accounted for the final points in a 63-61 victory by Holy Cross (2-13, 1-1) over the Navy men's basketball team (7-6, 1-1), Sunday afternoon at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass.
 
"Disappointing loss," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.  "We didn't defend real well in the first half and didn't rebound.  (We) came out in the second half and defended better, but offensively, in this game you have to make one-foot shots and free throws and we missed several one-foot open shots and then we missed free throws that hurt us and changed the tide of the game.  Certainly, it was a winnable game and that's the frustrating part of it."
 
Navy put together one of its better starts to a game this season as it jumped out to a 17-7 lead.  Holy Cross responded with a 15-0 run on its way to building a 33-23 advantage.  The Mids were able to close to within two points at 35-33 before the Crusaders went into halftime holding a 37-33 cushion.
 
Both teams shot very well in the first half –– Navy, 57.7 percent; Holy Cross, 55.6 percent –– but the Crusaders were 5-9 from three-point land and the Mids were 1-5.
 
Navy drew to within one point early in the second half as a layup and foul shot by Greg Summers (So., Ocoee, Fla.) made the score 40-39.  Holy Cross promptly scored the ensuing seven points to build some separation.
 
The Mids slowly chipped away at the deficit and soon took a 50-49 lead on another layup by Summers with just under 10 minutes left on the clock.  Neither team scored on their next four respective possessions, then the teams traded two-point possessions to keep the Mids in front, 52-51, with 6:48 remaining.
 
A key play occurred with 4:44 remaining as Evan Wieck (Sr., Amarillo, Texas) hurt his shoulder while being fouled.  He had to exit the game and would not return.  In his absence, Jaylen Walker (Fr., Allen, Texas) made Wieck's two free throw attempts to give Navy a 54-51 lead. 
 
Holy Cross regained the lead at 57-56 with 2:23 remining, but, after an empty possession for each team, Walker drilled a three-point shot to put Navy back in front, 59-57, with 1:12 still to play.  Joe Pridgen scored for Holy Cross to tie the game with 54 seconds left, then Summers grabbed an offensive carom and was fouled on his resulting field goal attempt.  He made both efforts from the line to give the Mids a 61-59 lead with 34.8 seconds left.
 
On the other end of the court, Matt Faw grabbed an errant Holy Cross shot and was fouled on the putback.  He made his first attempt, missed the second and fouled Luke Loehr (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) in the scrap for the rebound with 15.3 seconds remaining.  Loehr walked to the other foul line and missed both attempts, with the Crusaders grabbing the second miss and hustling it over halfcourt before calling timeout with 11.1 seconds remaining.
 
Once play resumed, the ball found its way to Lowder about 10 feet to the left of the top of the key.  After he made the triple, the officials stopped the game to verify the clock was correct in stopping with 6.0 seconds left.  When play resumed, the Mids inbounded the ball and eventually gave it to Walker at the top of the key.  His three-point shot as time expired hit the back of the rim and the front of the rim before bouncing out.
 
Navy continued its success at getting to the foul line today.  The Mids were 13-22 from the charity stripe and the Crusaders were 5-16.  However, Holy Cross ended the game making 10-22 three-point shots to Navy's 2-10 effort from beyond the arc.  The two made treys was a season low for the Mids, while the 10 triples for Holy Cross was tied for the most allowed by Navy this year.
 
The Mids narrowly came out ahead in the rebounding (36-30) and turnover (9-12) columns of the box score.
 
Summers set a career-high for points with 17 and notched the second double-double of his career with a game-high 10 caroms.  Wieck added 14 points and Cam Davis (Jr., Battlefield, Mo.) scored 11.  Walker scored five points after having entered the game having scored three points this year.
 
"He (Jaylen) has been playing better in practice," said DeChellis.  "And we had a hard time guarding them (Holy Cross).  Their speed and their athleticism at that position really hurt us.  We though the other guys that were in there had a hard time guarding the ball, especially in the first half.  In the second half we decided to go to a smaller lineup and play him at the "4" spot, an undersized 4 so we could match up a little better with them.  Offensively, he made a couple of big free throws and had a big shot for us.  He has been playing better in practice, so the guys who play better in practice are going to get a chance to play."
 
Navy will play Wednesday at Bucknell.